Dark Thoughts
by TaNa-Jo
Summary: Obi-Wan does not know what happened to him after Savage and Darth Maul kidnapped him. He feels off and his thoughts are drifting to the dark side. What kind of revenge did Maul take? What did he do to him? Can Anakin save him?
1. Thought Lost

**Dark thoughts**

Thank you for reading this :) This is my first FF that is going to be quite long - I am very excited! I love Sith!Obi-Wan stories so I decided to write my own.

All characters belong to George Lucas

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 **Chapter 1 - Thought lost**

When Savage returned to the planet Dathomir in the Outer Rim, he wasn't prepared for what Mother Talzin would reveal to him.

Fog surrounded the red glowing planet and Savage always hated the thick fog since it was quite difficult to land a ship and get through the mist. Out of his cockpit he saw the forests and damp lands with its many swamps which reminded him of his childhood and his home in general. He wasn't very fond of it. The planet had a meaning to him and some of his clan members but most of the inhabitants did not share this sentiment. Trust in general was hard to earn but down there one would search for eternity. Life was tough there and it made him strong in the end - even if he had to kill one of his two brothers.

Then there were the Nightsisters - ruling over the whole planet and using his clan for their own good. He grimaced at that but at the same time he knew he couldn't change a thing so he concentrated on finding a safe spot to land his ship.

When he stepped out of the ship, he could feel the life on the planet with all its darkness manifested and throbbing around him. The air smelled like home, darkness and power. Not a thing was going on there without some certain beings knowledge. When Savage came closer to his village, mother Talzin stepped out of a shadow of a giant glowing tree.

"Savage, I have been waiting for your appearance for a while." She said, eyes shining.

"Mother Talzin" He greeted her and bowed.

"I have information for you that I'm sure you would find most interesting."

"And what kind of information would the be?" He answered while wondering what she was talking about.

"Well it came to me that your brother, thought lost and killed by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is still alive. But- "

"Maul is alive?" Savage interrupted her, not believing one word.

Talzin closed her eyes and smiled at him. Her many wrinkles on her ashen face made her look even older and mischievous.

"Yes my dear Savage. But let me speak out at first. Darth Maul was fighting two brave and strong Jedi as you may know and was killed by Qui-Gon Jinn's padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi in a duel on Naboo. He cut off his lower body."

At the name Kenobi, Savage gritted his teeth and remembered the day, Talzin told him what had happened on Naboo and even if he grew up without his brother, he still had met him later on and despite that, he was a part of his family and clan. It stirred a certain point of anger inside of him he was not aware of - something personal. Even if this problem wasn't his, he still felt hate for Kenobi. He saw the news on the Holonet anyway, where the scum celebrated Darth Maul's death with a long speech by the chancellor. Even the thought of that let his hate grow.

"Calm down Savage my dear, I feel your anger radiating off you. Do not worry I will help you to find him. But after these whole ten standard years his mind is in a state of confusion and hate. Darth Maul was a master of the dark side but once he was cut down by Kenobi, his anger about being defeated by this young Padawan broke something in him. His mind is corrupted and clouded by hate, anger and the dark side. Maul is trapped in his own thoughts of hate so much he cannot help himself anymore. It took me some time to make out his whereabout. I believe that Kenobi is the center of all his hate and anger." Mother Talzin said to him with one of her smiles no one could tell what exactly they meant. Talzin was just a scary being overall, corrupted by dark magic and age.

"Yes … Kenobi" - He gritted his teeth - " It is all his fault. Everything. Mother can you tell me how to save my brother Darth Maul from this state and bring him back? Is it possible? You said he is still alive so I assume you need me?" Savage asked, yellow eyes glowing with resolve.

"Savage only you can find him. I do not wish to leave my sisters and this beloved planet of mine anytime soon." He had to hide a frown at that comment.

"Go fly to the planet Lotho Minor. You will find him there but beware the planet isn't a friendly one." She said and took an amulet out of her robes and handed it over to the Zabrak.

"It glows once you are near your brother. You will know where he is by then. When you find him, activate the amulet to call for me." Talzin said and vanished into the shadows.

Savage just nodded to that and directly turned to leave. He had another mission now.

Back on his ship, he checked if he was ready to leave and punched in the coordinates of Lotho Minor and started his ship.

He was leaving the dark planet with its swamps and the mysterious red fog sooner than he had expected. He hadn't heard of the planet Lotho Minor often - if he remembered right it was a big brownish junk planet that inhabited only a few creatures - all scum and underprivileged.

When the board computer finally created a route to the place where he would find his brother, Savage activated light speed and when he entered the blue whitish tunnel he smirked his mind set on the coming reunion with his brother, greater power and revenge on that Jedi scum who caused his brother - a real trained and feared Sith so much pain. He would help his brother get his revenge on Kenobi whatever it may cost.


	2. Reunion

**Chapter 2 - Reunion**

Savage searches for Maul and get help

When Savage's ship left the hyperspace, the planet stood before him in all its ugliness. He read the information his ship could provide him - there was not much info at all. All it said was that the planet's atmosphere was thick with toxins coming from all the trash and the poisoned ground. Besides the fact that living there wasn't exactly healthy it said that the atmosphere contained oxygen so he wouldn't have to worry about breathing. The nearer he came to its surface the thicker the brownish mist became. The entire ground was covered with trash which was stapled up to the height of his ship. It took him some time to find a trustworthy spot to land his ship without damaging it in any way.  
'And my brother spent ten whole standard years on… this?' He thought with a frown, not believing in what a shameful situation that Jedi had put his brother in.

He grabbed his double-bladed lightsaber along with some credits and clipped it to his belt. When he stepped outside the ship he grimaced in pure disgust. The air smelled and tasted like garbage. One couldn't even see more than about fifty metres - the fog was that thick around here. He ignited his lightsaber and turned to see if there was any kind of danger around him he wasn't aware of. The amulet felt warmer around his neck and this was a sign he was on the right way. He stretched out with the force but couldn't find anything useful. Maul's force signature must have changed considering the fact that, if mother Talzin wasn't wrong - he doubted that - Maul's mind was in a kind of insane state. But he trusted the force and let it guide him wherever it would lead him to.

He passed endless mountains of garbage and little toxic puddles that were created out of all the watery substances that dripped from the trash. It was utterly disgusting.

After what felt like an eternity he sensed another being close to him. This being was clearly witty but weakly minded at the same time. He decided to stalk towards it, lightsaber in his hand, ready to kill at any time. The zabrak felt the creature approaching and he ignited his weapon. Red light shone in the dim surroundings and the buzzing lightsaber was pointed into the face of a snake-like, grey creature.

"You." Savage said and the creature was taken aback by this fast reaction to its approach by that horned man.  
"Yes what is it?" It hissed in standard language but thick with accent. It eyed Savage and yellow eyes met grey - both not trusting anything.  
"I need to find someone living on this planet. Have you heard of Darth Maul?"  
The creature tilted its head to one side and eyed him curiously and blinked a few times while it watched the Sith.  
"Welllllll … I saw a creature once that looked similar to you but his body was different to yours and his skin one of a dark red colour. Do you think it could be him?"

Savage eyes that creature even closer now. It looked like a long snake and it was quite big - not as big as some snakes on Dathomir but quite big, still. Sharp teeth glinted in that creatures' jaw. 'This creature is my only chance right now I have to get more information out of it. If it is of no use I can still kill it or leave it be later on.'

"Hey, you." The creature hissed.  
"What is it?" Came the answer.  
"By what name can I call you? Hm? My name is Morley and I can assure you I know this region better than anyone else and I'm much more trustworthy than most of the creatures living here. Right now I have no business to attend besides to look out for food but you…" He eyed Savage once more and especially the red saber that was still ignited and dangerously buzzing at him, always ready to slice himself into pieces. "…You need something and I am willing to help you find it. Rarely people come here… only those who buy certain pieces that are still having some worth to sell it away again… still trash but useful one it seems… . I am interested in this whole thing I can sense a certain power surrounding you… I can't quite grab it but…"

"That is something you won't understand and it doesn't matter right now." Savage cut Morley off.

"I… understand. We all have secrets theheheh. Anyway… I will help you if you want to take my help. I think I still might know the way and I think it is worth trying or do you have a plan already? No one else is here and this seems exciting and interesting. With someone like you accompanying me, no one will harm me so one more reason to help you find…?"

"Darth Maul." Savage ended the sentence for Morley.

"I am called Savage. I accept your help - I am from far away and I am sure you are the one here knowing the surroundings far better than I do. Darth Maul is one of my species and I believed him dead for a very long time and I was told he can be found on this planet. If your help is useful in the end I might repay your help." Savage said to Morley in a calm tone and removed his saber out of the creature's face.

"Good Savage, I would say you follow me. Be careful where you step, people easily die here and get eaten. There isn't much to eat here and beings not born here cannot survive a week without getting eaten or killed… or both at the same time thehehehe."

"I understand. Now lets go I have still a long way ahead of me and once I found him, even more."

Morley just nodded and moved. His body was perfect for this place, he was quite fast and it seemed his body was quite strong and the skin wasn't easily harmed by the toxic substances all lying and dripping around of them.

They passed huge one might say mountains of garbage and damaged parts of droids, ships and other metal and almost rotten things while on top of that there was trash stored on the planet's surface, too. At first, Savage kept his lightsaber turned on but with the time, the ground they were walking on turned completely to trash and Savage had to jump and climb a lot so he decided to clip it to his belt in the end.

They came to an area where nearly all surroundings were burning and the air was polluted with thick smoke. Smoke not made for lungs to breath. The garbage towers hovered over them like the entrance to hell itself - if there was some kind of hell this planet definitely was a part of it. The sky was of a dark brown orange the whole time and the fires burning everywhere gave this place an even worse approach.

"Well… Savage follow me then but beware of the fire breathers. We are very close I might say. You survive or you won't make it it is all up to you now." Morley said.

"Fire breathers?" The Zabrak asked and looked up.

A giant droid-like creature one would call it, climbed from one trash tower to another one while pure fire was burning in its enormous maw, eating all the metal pieces and things in its sight in seconds, while it infected the surrounding area with the hot, lava-like metal that leaked out of its jaw so everything just burned way more. The whole place was burning and Savage could barely see his surroundings or where to go.

Morley eyed him and grinned. Then he nodded. "Well then. Come." With a flick of his tail he wriggled around the pieces of trash and dodged burning metal pieces falling out of the fire breathers maws which only had one purpose - to eat everything around and just burn it all away. A living, burning scrapyard.

Savage ran as fast as he could and with the force he was able to dodge all of the falling pieces and Morley waited for him at several spots and hissed his name along the comment that he should hurry up. Savage just grunted at that and ran faster.

Finally the air didn't feel like fire burning in your lungs anymore and they came to a halt. The fire breathers were still clearly visible and Savage could still hear the metal scraping while the fire breathers climbed from tower to tower, while these nearly fell apart.

He turned to Morley. "Thanks."  
"I am impressed you made it. The last one I guided didn't make it." Morley snickered.  
"You better not betray me, snake." The Zabrak warned, eyes glinting.  
"No, this is something different…"

The amulet glowed and became warmer Savage noticed, now that he wasn't dealing with surviving anymore. 'Im close, brother.' He grabbed the amulet and closed his eyes, while Morley eyed him with a certain interest.

"What is so special about that someone you seek to find? What is that you are holding hmmm?" Morley asked and backed away when the Sith turned to him, eyes shining golden in the towers' shadows.

"It leads me to my brother. … Now come I don't have time for chit-chat and especially not with someone like you."

Morley nodded and in silence they made their way. 'How much longer will this take?' Savage asked himself when he suddenly felt a shift in the force that told him to be aware and one second later he dodged a blaster shot with his double-bladed lightsaber. Quickly, he hid behind a rotten wing of some ship. Morley was close to him and looked him.

"Scrap gatherers." He hissed and Savage nodded. This was an annoying distraction but of course it was easily solvable for him. No need to waste time - getting this done quickly was necessary so he could continue his way through this rotten planet of trash and leave it behind forever.

About eight Scrap gatherers, wrapped in thick cloth were standing around them by now. All of them carried blasters as far as he could see from the distance. That snake wouldn't be of any help but he didn't care since it didn't matter at all.

The fight was quick but harsh. The Sith moved forward, using the force to sprint, while he dodged blaster shots from several directions and killed two of them by only reflecting their shots. It felt good to let the darkness flood him and he felt alive while his body soaked up all the darkness. His saber cut one in half and sliced another ones head off. It fell to the ground next to him.

Meanwhile, Morley hushed into the shadows, always close to Savage, who was just reflecting another blaster shot with the lightsaber, same colour as the blood it caused. He grabbed one of the scrap gatherers by his throat and raised him in the air so that the rest of them could see their partner. Savage eyed them and the man or whatever creature it was, tried to flee from his grab, took a last breath and then his neck cracked with an ugly sound. The creature fell to the ground, lifeless.

The Sith could feel the fear radiating around him and he could let the dark side flood their minds and kill them that way but it wasn't worth it. They ran away a moment later and Savage turned his saber off and put it back on his belt.

Morley crawled to him and waited for something. "Come on." Savage said and moved his hand to emphasise the order.

The amulet again grew warmer and Savage couldn't hold back some sort of a little smile. 'Soon.'  
While they walked in silence, besides Morley pointing in certain directions, the orange sky became darker and darker. Soon, the Zabrak felt rain dripping from the sky. Water seemed wrong at such a place since the planet seemed to be burning constantly and the ground was so poisonous that he doubted a single plant could grow here.

He hissed, when the substance hit is unarmed body parts and burned on his skin like fire. With a look at his hand, he directly knew what this was. Acid rain. Of course, on a planet like this - especially this - he should have expected it even sooner. The air was filled with nitrogen oxides, dirt, fire and Sith hells, a lot of other things he didn't even want to know.

"Savage! Come, we have to seek shelter! Over there!" Morley hissed with alarm in his voice.

The Zabrak ran over to the place, where the snake was pointing at.  
Inside it was quite dark and he heard Morley approach while the storm of acid rain grew stronger and he was relieved he was protected by this thick steel roof, he was able to identify. 'Name a place that isn't garbage here. Tsk.'

He looked around and when he looked closer, he saw that we was not standing in a puddle from the rain that maybe dripped through a hole in the roof - no - he was actually standing in a huge puddle of black blood.

This place seemed to be a bar and when Savage took a look at the place, he saw several corpses laying on the floor which was covered in blood.

The amulet shone in a bright blue and it pulsed with heat. 'I have nearly found him!'

There was some sort of tunnel in that bar that lead into pure darkness. This was the way.

He turned around to make out the creature but found nothing. Savage turned around and saw Morley directly infant of him.

"Good bye, dear Savage. It was a pleasant journey with you and you survived everything. But THIS- " He snickered "NOT!" And then Morley pulled down a lever with his tail and the Sith fell into a black abyss.

"Good luck! My master will be very happy when he sees what I have brought him! He will be happy with Morley! He will leave me the rest of you to eat, yes! My master is always happy with me and rewards me for bringing him his food!" Savage could Morley hiss above him before the trap closed.

'I will kill that poor excuse of a creature!' Savage thought and he fell hard to the ground. He managed to stay up but he noticed several ribs were cracked and his skin was ripped open on his unprotected parts, where his armour didn't reach. The dark side welcomed that pain and he released it into it.

The Sith ignited one of his blades and looked around. Stones reflected the red light and it seems as if he was alone. But that wasn't possible, since that bastard above had said something about a master. Was his brother involved in this? He had no time to think about it, when he heard something behind him, some meters away.

"Brother?" He asked. "Is that you?" He got no response. He could hear movement and shadows cast around him.

"Brother?" Still nothing. He hurried after these shadows and after several meters, the shadows stopped and merged together into a creature without any manifestation. It attacked him and furious about being fooled, Savage used his saber against it with such anger and hate, that the creature backed away and escaped.

The Zabrak hurried after it, swearing by his horns that this … thing would lead him to his older brother.

He ran as fast as he could and followed the creature deeper and deeper, not caring, where he was going.  
He came to a halt when he saw fire shining behind a fall and by the flames shadows it clearly was a campfire someone was having. The amulet shone that bright and turned hot, it almost broke, so Savage took it off his neck.

He braced himself and with his lightsaber still ignited he stepped into the bunker.

The once feared Sith, Darth Maul was walking around in that little room like a caged animal, talking to himself and moving in a way, that wasn't normal or calm in any way Savage knew of him. Maul was grabbing his horns, which were long and broken and his claws digging into his skin so hard they drew blood.

"Brother!" Savage said and stepped closer, his lightsaber with him. He stopped when he saw his brothers lower half.

Where should have been his torso and legs, there was metal. Scrap surrounded him and it formed a spider like shape around him with eight matching, sharp legs out of wires and metal parts that were merged together by even more cables.

"Brother! Maul!" The Zabrak yelled and Maul looked at him for the first time.  
His red eyes were blood shot and Savage could see the insane in them.

"I- I… I…have to… I have to.. kill! Yes! Kill him. Kill them all! Shame. Shame. Shame! I have to KILL" Maul stated and raged and when Savage made a step in his direction, his all time feared brother backed away and turned around, his many legs scraping over the ground.

"Maul what did they do to you?! Tell me!" The younger brother screamed and hissed in anger.

This was, what his brother had become?! His strong, fearless brother - a Sith in all but name?! The Jedi would have to pay for that with their own blood and even that wouldn't be enough. He would rip them apart and burn them all in pure hate!

Savage suddenly heard movement out of the other direction and saw Morley crawling out of the shadows.

The creature looked at him, eyes wide. Oh! I thought my master had killed you already, I-" He was cut off by Savage's hand that grabbed his throat. "Well, too late. Thought what? I would be dead? Pah! What did you do to keep my brother down here, in this dark place?! To make him suffer even more so you would live off by his suffering?!" Savage hissed and tightened his grip and Morley's body fell to the ground, lifeless.

He turned around to his brother. "Maul! I came here to safe you, to bring you back to reality! What do you want me to do? Do you seek revenge? -"

At the word revenge, Maul turned around and faster as anything he grabbed his brothers shoulders and eyed him, his long fingernails digging into Savages flesh it hurt but he didn't care at all.

"KENOBI. I want to - I need to kill Kenobi! He shall die. They all have to. He… he did this!" Maul grabbed his horns and tried to rip them out of his head.

"Brother, we will. You will seek revenge and I will help you."

"YES" Maul hissed through gritted teeth and turned to face Savage.

"But first…" Savage said. "… let me call Mother Talzin." With that he grabbed the amulet as fast as he could.

A green aura started to form around them and then suddenly the figure of Mother Talzin stood before them.  
"My dearest night brothers. Savage, I believe you found what we all hoped you would. Now, Maul, come. My child, no fear - it will all come as you wish to be. Now, come" Mother Talzin spoke and Maul stalked towards her, his gaze unfocused.


	3. Return

Finally,, we continue - hope you like this chapter :D

Savage watched as his brother walked towards Mother Talzin. Maul was completely gone and shattered. He was simply not himself - he wasn't well built anymore, muscles thin and his body worn out from the food Morley had been bringing him. That creature fooled other beings and they followed him to Maul's hideout where who killed these and Morley could keep the rest.

Savage laughed at that - his brother maybe was not himself right now but even in this condition he had power above others and was nonetheless dangerous.

The Sith looked purely wild and dangerous with his long, sharp horns, the claws and the aggressive but uncontrolled movements. But even a pathetic Jedi would be able to see that this was not the real Maul but a weak shape of what he was.

Talzin walked before them and stopped at a certain part outside of the bunker – which was actually not a real bunker but a cave-like hideout. There was a tunnel system down here, where the former owners of the bar lived or hid things. It was the only possible way to survive on this planet with its acid rain and poisoned environment.

She spoke in a language only known to the night sisters and green mist revealed an altar, marked with runes.

"Maul, my child. Come and lie down - there will be no harm done to you." The night sister said with a soft but ordering voice and like as if in trance, Maul stalked to the altar, his many legs squeaking and shaking.

"Good Maul, very good." She hushed. "Now tell me - do you want to stay here or would you like to come back to whom you have been and bring wrath above your tormentors. About Kenobi and his fellowship - the Jedi?"

"KENOBI!" He groaned with a hoarse voice and pure hate like flicking flames burning in his red trimmed eyes. "I want revenge on him. I- I- can't. I can't leave this- this place. It's dark, it is … I don't know where I am. all I can think of is pain. Pain. Pure pain. My body is in unbearable pain. The force. The force helped me once and sometimes it comes back to me. But I can't … I can't grasp it. I feel empty … I cannot … I cannot. No sleep. No sleep at all. All I can think of is… REVENGE - YES I need to take revenge. Kenobi! That name - the name! I-" He broke off, eyes unfocused and hectic.

"Maul - you will be in no pain after this. You finally can sleep and rest. No pain no more. You will seek revenge. You will get it. You will be Darth Maul again! But now - one last time you need to endure pain but it will help you gain strength and power altogether! Now. Look." The Zabrak just nodded, already worn out from his outburst and simply tired due to his bodies' condition. Talzin shot him a caring smile as Maul looked up to her, grasping the last string of hope to flee his hell. She whirled her hands and a glowing, green ball of light danced before his face and floated around, while Maul went after it, gazing into its bright light.

"Savage. Stay away and stay silent. This will hurt him. The body of his - it constantly hurts his body and fills his body with poison. I can feel it - it is slowly killing him, it sucks his life out of his bones, his flesh and mind. Yessss. It slowly kills. The dark side does not help. It does not obey - no one. It grants you to use it but you cannot own this power. No one can. Even for users of the dark side, this planet is poison. It is of another side of darkness, deadly for its own inhabitants and ground. Maul would have lived no longer - even now his body is all worn out and broken. When Darth Maul fell - he used the dark side, not knowing what he was doing. The dark side does not help - so it just followed his grasp. Your brother grabbed the life and so his body was saved. Owning legs - yes - and no bleeding to death but not better than death at all."

Talzin said, while she walked towards Maul, who gazed at the glowing ball infant of him, which stood still in the air.

"Maul, look close. You have seen enough. Now – sleep." She whispered and touched the middle of his forehead with her index finger. Maul stumbled backward where the altar made out of polished stone stood and fell on his back.

The green light grew and exploded in many small lights that whirled around his head. When he fell, the many legs of his wriggled and twitched. With a loud squeaking sound of metal scratching on metal, they fell off along the rest of the metallic parts.

Meanwhile, Mother Talzin had walked behind the lying form of Maul and bent over him, forming the green lights with her hands, while she was singing in an ancient voice and whispered words and sentences, Savage believed to have heard somewhere in nightly whispers deep in the dathomirian forests. He shivered while Talzin sang her mantra and the force felt weird - even if she wasn't using it… she borrowed small bits from it.

Talzin's eyes shone in the dim light and she looked purely malicious. With her long, slender fingers she formed circles around Maul's head, never even touching his long horns that stood off his head like enormous, sharp spikes.

The green swirls moved faster and faster and suddenly, Talzin grabbed into them and pulled something black out of Maul's head. Savage felt pure darkness and venomousness radiating off this black fog she was pulling out. She spoke faster and stronger and pulled it out completely and the Sith cried out in pain, while Talzin removed more and more out of his head until Maul's facial expression became calmer.

She raised her arms while speaking and Maul floated above the altar, his upper body half exposed. His bones were clearly visible under the withered muscles and his skin was a faded red - not bright and strong as Savage knew it to be.

Different objects and mechanic parts around them began to float and flew to Mother Talzin who was still singing, eyes closed and focused. The parts wandered to Maul's body and arranged themselves in a certain order and meanwhile, wires wriggled like snakes over the ground and floated to the parts and tangled around each other and combined the parts into a pair of long limbs. The body of the red Zabrak twitched and wanted to resist but the wires were too strong and finally wrapped around his torso, unremovable.

Completely lost in singing, Talzin sang louder and roughly, she moved her arms in swirl-like movements even faster than before.

The green light buzzed and wrapped the whole body in light. Hot and cold at the same time, the air whirled around them and Maul's body twitched even more when the limbs began to glow and move. The green light made the legs shine like green fire and the whole body was vibrating.

Talzin moved her hands even faster and the light manifested itself around the metallic constructions and melted them together as far as Savage could observe.

With one last scream, Talzin raised her arms and the complete form of the Sith shone green and then the light began to vibrate. The long, outgrown horns fell off Maul's head to reveal new ones, sharp and dangerous. Muscles were returning to their former strength and the whole body was pulsing with strength itself. The facial expression turned into a controlled and calmer one while the limbs were revealed. Not longer metallic constructs, strong, mighty robotic legs were created out of these old, broke droid parts. Long, sharp claws were at their ends, ready to climb, grab, jump or running.

Mother Talzin was a witch in all but name and Savage once again swore himself to never mess with that being.

Talzin ended her song and his brother floated down and lay back on the altar. She shot him a knowing grin as if she had heard his thoughts. Savage just stared at the Sith lying before him, now looking strong, clean and powerful.

"Darth Maul. Mighty Sith - master of the dark side and powerful, more than the most of us – claimed by darkness and hate – suffered for ten whole years in agony – a night brother! He returned today! Out of the deepest darkness – back to life, ready to live and seek revenge upon his sufferers. Now, my night brother Maul – wake!" Mother Talzin spoke with a powerful voice and with her index finger, she touched the Zabrak's forehead again and Darth Maul open-end his eyes.

Savage looked into his brother's eyes. Red with a shine of gold in them.

"Brother." He said.

"Savage."

"My night brothers. Come to Dathomir and rest. I will wait for you." Said Talzin's voice but she was no longer there.

Savage eyed Maul and back to the spot where Talzin had stood a few seconds ago. "And now brother? What do you want to do?"

Maul turned to him. "Savage. That Jedi scum has put me in such a shameful state - Kenobi dishonored me in the worst way. I.. rot away on this.. What is this? A junk planet? Kenobi waited ten years for me without knowing it – he may wait a few days more. A few more days he can live his little happy life with that Skywalker brat. Haha! Ah... Skywalker... Quite close to Kenobi it seems? I bet after me slicing his former master he took care of that brat. I already have some ideas but we have to prepare to see if they even work. I will not kill Kenobi... That.. would be way too merciful." Maul crossed his arms and nodded. "Brother let us go back to Dathomir and off this shameful planet. I kinda miss that planet and its darkness. Now come." He added and ran.

Savage nodded and followed him quickly.


	4. Planning

**Chapter 4 - Planning**

I would be very happy about some reviews of yours! I hope you will enjoy this !

The flight back was quite silent and Maul seemed to be brooding and thinking about possible ways to get his revenge. Savage wondered about what exactly his brother had in mind - he wasn't planning to kill Kenobi? What else then?

"Brother I haven't slept for about ten years. I'll go and you take over."

"Sure." said Savage and nodded.

When they left the hyperspace, Maul returned and he seemed a bit more relaxed.

"I am sure Mother Talzin already awaits us." Maul said and stood up. Savage followed him and both Zabraks walked out of the ship.

Talzin was standing only a few meters away. "My night brothers. Come with me."

They followed her into the village of the night sisters into a small hut. "Here you can rest until you decide where to go and what exactly your plan is. I have the feeling this will take a while." She eyed Maul who looked back at her.

"Yes. I plan on observing him at first. How he changed over the years. He has to be a master by now and I am sure Skywalker was his padawan and now his close friend? Since he was his apprentice they have to be quite close."

Talzin nodded. "What I heard from the clone wars… they fight at the front with their own battalions. Most of the time they're on missions together. And yes, Skywalker was his student after you defeated Kenobi's former master. Their bond is very strong if that is what you want to know my son. They trust each other with their lives."

Maul nodded and turned to his brother. "Savage what do you think? Have you seen Kenobi and his partner yet?"

The other Zabrak just frowned. "Yes.. only in brief moments - not in a fight if that is what you mean. I saw them on holos, where they fought together and in public news of course. I don't think they ever saw me or know me at all."

"Mother Talzin - can we stay here on Dathomir? Otherwise we will leave and hide somewhere else. I know some hidden Sith areas that might be useful but it would be easier here." Maul added and waited for Talzin to answer his question.

She just nodded and smiled "My children - why would I have told you to come to Dathomir then, hm? Darth Maul, you need to rest after this long time, no matter what you say. Go and plan, you two. This planet is your homeworld as well. Just don't bring war to this place. I am busy with other things than war. Go and come as you like. If you need anything, come to me." Talzin said and left the hut, leaving them alone.

"So" Savage said and looked at his brother.

"So?" Maul answered him and turned.

"Well, what now brother? What is the next step or the plan - if there is one yet."

"Now" Maul bent down to him "We rest. I have a lot to think about and tomorrow morning we will speak about that matter again."

The younger Zabrak nodded, obeying his brother's orders.

Deep in the night, Maul opened his golden eyes and stared at the ceiling. All he saw was pure darkness.

Kenobi … what to do with him and his little friend.

'I need that Skywalker brat out of my way. I waited way too long for that, to let him ruin my plans… no… and I don't want to have him there when I come for his master. They have to be on seperate missions - that is for sure. And the jedi - as pathetic as they are - kidnap children and put them together with a foreign man or woman to train and live with them. So their only family are the jedi itself and even more - everyone's personal master. One can almost say it is a father and son relationship.

That means that Kenobi and Skywalker are a family. Because of that Skywalker brat I even was put into that circumstances back, all these years ago. No, it was my master, Darth Sidious…'

Maul almost laughed at the thought of his former master. That man was an excellent teacher but he despised him for personal and several other issues. In many cases, he had acted too obvious and in a completely different way, Maul would have approved. But it was not his business how his master dealt with certain issues as long as Maul was the apprentice.

'Even if I had met this brat only once - he caused me enough trouble and despite that - he is with Kenobi almost every time. Hurting Kenobi would also hurt him. Haha brilliant. Skywalker would be very angry but more than that - lost. Even if the Jedi have their useless as they claim it 'selfless thinking in terms of relationships and ownership', I am sure they can not follow it as much as they would like to. But killing Kenobi would put the whole order in chaos and grief - not to forget about their strength. I must admit, Kenobi is one of the most powerful Jedi I have met so far.'

Maul frowned in the darkness and turned to lie on his side. He tried not to think about his 'legs'. The metal was scraping and he had to train to get used to them completely. For sure they had advantages in cases of jumping or running but he still preferred his real legs - the ones Kenobi had chopped off.

He laughed and shook his head.

'Pah. Killing Kenobi? Just killing? No. No way in all hells of this galaxy. No. Killing him would be way too short for him to suffer. He should live his little, miserable life in a condition he would never approve of. I do not have to cut off any of his limbs for that - cut off limbs are not really a problem if I look at myself. No… Kenobi is that much light-sided I want to vomit. But at the moment I killed his master I felt such hate in the force I could have only been him. So he IS very much capable to use the dark side. Kenobi has a lot of anger if he wants. I felt the will to kill so much in the force at that - he simply had surprised me. I had not expected that much hate from any jedi.

So, what to do with him. The galaxy has a lot of secrets and it's ways to achieve certain wishes.

The worst thing for Kenobi would be to fall. And he sure is not falling any time soon or ever. What IF he still falls. I am not sure how yet but he will fall, knowing he cannot do something against it. He already has a certain darkness inside him but it is not enough. If I find a way to change that… like twisting his thoughts, memories or point of views… hm. I have to talk about that matter with Talzin. I am sure she knows what I have in mind, anyway.

Kenobi being a Sith - against his will but still a Sith. Haha how nice is that. Him on the dark side would be so very dangerous I am sure. And how unhappy and miserable he will feel. Oh yes and how his beloved Skywalker will suffer - I am sure of that. The worst thing is, when you have to question yourself. Kenobi will fall, but how and when is only up to me. Yes haha. I will have to ask Talzin about that. And my brother will be a big help in this issue. Kenobi has no chance. There is still much to think about, tough.' Maul ended his thinking and with a wicked smile he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Maul opened his eyes and stretched, with a confident smile and woke up Savage.

"Come, Savage. Last night I worked out quite a plan to bring Kenobi down. Since killing him would be way too merciful." He walked out of the hut, leaving a confused Savage behind him.

"Wait brother! What do you mean by that?! You will not kill Kenobi? That bastard deserves to die and rot in hell!" Savage raged.

Maul turned around "Savage. We. Do. As. I. Say." He waved his left arm "Come Savage. I will explain it to you - bring your lightsaber. I already have mine with me." as he walked into the direction of the forest, behind the village.

The other Sith followed Maul to a big tree with orange-red glowing leaves. Maul sat down on a tree trunk and Savage sat down opposite to his brother.

He did not really know what to think about all that but he decided to wait for the explanation.

"Before I will tell you about my intentions with Kenobi, we both have to check in on him on some holos, I believe you have access?" Maul shot his brother a questioning look.

"Of course. My holopad is on the ship still. I have access to the general galaxy news and of course the damn jedi can be found everywhere on the news. No one is save." Savage replied with a sneer.

"Good. Go, get it and show me the latest news. I missed a lot, it seems." The other Sith replied.

Darth Maul watched with interest what was being said in the most recent news and laughed at Count Dooku and his droid army. That old man was trying to be someone he could never become. He had many disputes with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who – as Maul had predicted, was now a master. But a general? So the Jedi played war now? He had laughed hard at that. The oh-so-nobel-peace-adoring Jedi were playing war. Difficult to defend their way of thinking with that. They cannot even act like they say they do. And that former Skywalker brat became his apprentice and even today they fought together on almost every mission. Skywalker could become a problem in what he had planned for Kenobi. They definitely had to be separated at some point. The most important part of this was to ask Mother Talzin if it was even possible what he had in mind.

The Sith also watched several documentations about the war and what exactly happened in his absence of ten years. He had actually missed a lot but he did not really care about it as long as he knew who he was and his focus for now at least was Kenobi.

When Maul turned the holopad off, he closed his eyes and said nothing for a moment.

"Savage, I thought a lot about this, yet we have to ask Talzin about the realization of this plan."

"Okay. Tell me."

"Killing Kenobi is not what I plan to do to get my revenge. No… . Brother, what I have in mind is way better than just killing him haha! We will TURN him! Yes, oh yes, we will. He will suffer through this since he is a bloody Jedi filled with the light side of the force. The worst nightmare for scum like Jedi is their own fear of the dark side which is pure power, raw and uncontrolled, yet calm. One more reason to call them miserable and pathetic. The holos tell me Kenobi is quite famous? They fancy him - tell me what happens, if their greatest war hero falls? Such a nice addition to my plan. The council will get quite a crack. My personal main focus is to turn him tough."

Savage looked at him, wondering how to even do this. "This sounds good in telling but let us hope Mother Talzin can help with this. I have never heard of this but there are fallen Jedi so it does not seem impossible - I have to admit. And how exactly do you want him to turn?" His brother asked curiously.

Maul stroked his chin and looked at the ground. "Well, you cannot turn someone with a flick of your finger - that is for sure and I am obviously aware of that fact. We need to proceed in a different way. There just has to be a small, little starting point. Talzin should be able to plant a little, dark seed in Kenobi's mind which grows through time out of its own. We do not have to do anything. And at some point I will guide him a bit, that in the end, he will come to me and he cannot do anything against it. In the end, he has to obey me and do as I say. This will make it even worse for him!"

"This is excellent! It is also an interesting experiment. Worth to see the progress of him falling from the light into the black abyss of the dark side and how it will consume him, since he did not choose it for himself. He will try to fight it but without any success if Mother Talzin is involved in this. But how will you force him to obey your orders? He has to be aware of you… will you make it obvious from the start?" The younger Zabrak asked.

"Hm … no I won't show myself to Kenobi. He will fall at first. I am sure we can find some things to support this but it should be 'real' for Kenobi. The thought should come to him by his mind only, not by us telling him about it. It would not work otherwise. Everyone has dark thoughts and especially at war - the clone wars are pure luck for us! At war, both sides do cruel things in the name of let us say 'good'. The Jedi claim to call themself protectors of peace but look at their history. It is not clean at all and some of them are corrupt - we all are at some point. I am sure at some point, when Kenobi feels very bad, he will leave. It seems he tries to solve problems by his own, without begging other people to help him. Noble, noble. This all may take some time but the outcome will be great. At some point, he tries to find out what is wrong with him and I am sure there will be something done by him, which he never thought he would do and then Kenobi will be at his lowest point. THEN I will come for him and 'help' him. But how I can force him to obey me… we shall see later. There is a way for sure - let it be murder for example. I have no problem to slaughter some villages but I bet to prevent this or even worse things, he will follow. But this may still be too easy. We will think about it later on - at first he has to fall. There is plenty of time to think about something during that process. And poor little Skywalker will watch his master fall and he cannot do a single thing about this. Such a tragedy you can almost write about it." Maul said while he stretched his muscles, ready to stand up.

"Come brother" Maul said, stood up and walked into the direction of Talzin's hut.

Savage followed him, interested to see where this would be going.

Talzin already waited for them it seemed. They both entered her hut after checking if she was even at home. She was there but left them both in the dark. Normally, Maul would not let someone treat him like that but even he was suspicious about that woman. No one ever fought her and if - he did not want to know the outcome of this. The night sisters were far too deep connected with this planet and their magic to trust them. If he had, he would fight them but not if there was another way. For the sake of his own species, he would not begin war with them, since they shared a planet.

After a while, Talzin emerged from a small, dark room with some dried herbs and alien looking plants, that seemed to move. She stepped closer and threw them into the cauldron in the middle of the room. Green steam arose when she stepped closer and stirred it.

"So my children. I believe you came to a solution for your intent? Let us see if I predicted right. Maul, tell me."

Maul stepped closer. "My intention – and I am sure you already know somehow – is, to turn General Kenobi to the dark side out of his own. We need to plant a small seed of doubt and darkness into his mind that cannot be easily removed, which grows and grows until he leaves his beloved order. Mother, what he has done to me… ." He gritted his teeth. "... What he did to me … I cannot let this go without revenge. Besides, he will be very useful. I am sure you know how powerful he is - even for a jedi. In the end he will come to me and serve me. Can you help with that? I am sure there are other ways but you are the most skilled person I know; besides, I trust the night sisters way more than any other species. You helped my brother finding me, so there had to be a reason for all of this." He looked at her.

Talzin remained calm the whole time and smiled. "Well, Maul. I do not judge about good and evil but turning another beings mind is not easy. This may affect his character and mind obviously. At some point it could drive him mad and he will turn. I can help you with that, altering one's mind is not at all difficult but changing the thoughts and the way of thinking is another thing. Yet you are lucky I am aware of this power. It will take some time to prepare since there are old texts for me to remember in order for this to work. I will go into meditation and connect with my other, former sisters of the night. Bring him to me - he has to be unconscious. He should not know what planet he is stepping on in this case. It will only make things complicated. He will arrive unconscious and I will make him leave in the same state. I need at least two to three days to prepare. Do train, plan and recover Maul. I still feel the need of your body to recover. Savage mastered the two-bladed lightsaber but you can still teach him since you were a master before him." Talzin said, nodding to Maul.

"Alright. Thank you mother - I owe you."

"I know Maul, I know. If you ever can help me, I will seek you out but do not expect it. You are one of my many children being home to this planet. At some point I care for you all. But let me tell you this – daring to change a beings mind comes to a high price. It can either be to your advantage or be your end. None is for sure."

The Sith just nodded. "Mother, I can live with that. The dark side is with me, wherever I go. Nothing can stop me." He turned to leave and Savage followed, bowing his head to Talzin.

"You do what you have to do, Darth Maul." Talzin just said.

Outside, Maul decided to follow Talzin's advice to train and rest. Planning had to be done, too but he needed to be in shape and then there was his brother, whom he needed later on as well. Savage had to be trained to his approve, otherwise the mission could fail at some point.

There was just left how to get Kenobi and that task was an easy thing to do. Maul had certain contacts through his former master's training and his own, personal ones, no one was aware of - not even Darth Sidious. It would be easy to know, where certain missions would go and whom they would send. Kenobi was about to finish a mission when he watched the latest news. He and Skywalker were far away at the outer rim fighting at the front of some battle against the droids. After such a mission, they sure would be called back to the temple to report in detail. At that certain point, Maul would interfere.

Anakin was tired. The past six days he, Obi-Wan and several clones spent on Felucia. Wiping out a separatist base did not sound as difficult as he imagined. Of course, he got scolded for "reckless behaviour" and "arrogant thinking" by Obi-Wan after Mace Windu had informed them about their task and he laughed once they were alone. Reckless behaviour… these two words… it was almost like a mantra in the way, how often Obi-Wan said it - at least once in every mission. But even when they were on different missions, his friend always managed to let that slip. He rolled his eyes at the bare thought of it.

Tomorrow morning they would head back to Coruscant, where he would see Padme. Even if it was only for a short time - she would be very busy anyway. He was not good at politics but the way she behaved lately seemed to him as very stressed and exhausted. Plus, he heard about political debates which ended with a lot of disagreements in the holo-news. At least he would be home.

The glowing plants were nice to watch but sleeping on the floor was not one of his favourite things to do if he was honest. They had to build a camp not too close to the enemy's' base so the opportunity to take a shower or use something like a bath was not possible at all. Their ship had to leave on the third day because they had to pick up clones at another part of the planet, because their ship broke. After they would bring them back to the base their ship would come back for them. Anakin and Obi-Wan's squad had to do their mission anyway. But after what seemed to have been way more than three days living like that, he wanted nothing more than a proper bed and most of all - a shower. Anakin knew of course such things were a luxury at war but the past missions did not force them to such conditions. At the other hand, he enjoyed doing a more complex mission than just protecting some politicians and walk around with them with only cutting some droids down. It bored him to no end. Only when they were alone, he - as Obi-Wan said, complained - all the time. He had just rolled his eyes at that and said he wished for at least a shower.

"I do not enjoy that but it is the way it is and we cannot do anything about it. Anakin, at least we have contact with nature again. Isn't it enjoyable?" His former master had said and he just gave him a weird look. "Sure thing. I like it as much as sand, plus if I want to see plants I go see the gardens at Coruscant. I just want to finish this mission and go home." He had answered and Obi-Wan just laughed and said he would let him "sulk" then. He knew exactly how Anakin hated missions with camping and always mocked him about it - like when he was his student. That man had some nerve - he never complained about anything. He groaned and decided to go to sleep after his night shift at the campfire. Anakin was annoyed that day since their special task on their mission was to claim some secret plans for other separatist bases, they were not aware of yet. He managed to get at least some of them but he was not able to get the other, because at some point the droids had trapped him. One second he was distracted in a fight and one stupid, weak droid had locked the door he was in and left. Obi-Wan was wiping out droids at the other part of the base, because they had to split up at some point. Such simple mistakes annoyed him to no end, because this meant he would have to go after them as soon as possible after they would have reported. Analyzing the info on the cards he stole would take one to two days anyway. Hopefully they would find something.

"Had some good sleep?" Obi-Wan greeted him at the next day and he just nodded. "Yeah it was better than the last few days. I am just glad this is over now. Finally heading back. Are we reporting directly to the council? Since some droids could flee with some of the reports we were sent to steal while destroying their base. I want to go after them."

Obi-Wan took his mood in and after all these years spending with Anakin he knew to read him with his emotions and thoughts like a book.

"Anakin it is not your fault they could flee with their plans. Do not worry your head off about it. With the info we have now we can already locate some bases I am sure. Of course, it is not optimal but still something. We will go after them shortly. You need to repair your lightsaber anyway after you have treated it that badly in that last fight. And yes, we will report shortly after we have landed - and yes we will have time to get clean before that. The ship will arrive soon anyway." Obi-Wan said and patted him on his shoulder, while he began to pack his things.

"Still. It is annoying that I made a mistake like this. In the past - okay but not now."

"Even master Yoda makes mistakes do not forget that. We learn from mistakes. You are just starting" His former master laughed.

"Hey! Stop making fun of me!" Anakin grumbled but had to smile. "Fiiine. Let that damn ship just come quickly. I have enough of glowing nature and camping for now. And there are things for me to repair at home. And I always treat my lightsaber well!"

"You say that after nearly losing it in a cave once or when some droid managed to steal it from you. Haha oh well."

"Hm what about you where you got captured and pirates stole it from you hm?"

"That was a once-done mistake Anakin!"

Anakin laughed. "Sure master, sure."

Anakin enjoyed their friendship. Over the past years they became something like brothers and best friends.

When they heard the ship, his mood lightened. When the planet grew smaller and smaller he thought about what to say to the council to not get scolded. Especially the annoying master Windu unnerved him. That man was such a pain in the butt with his complains about how Anakin planned his missions just because he was relying on his traditional planning and did not like Anakin's new ways of thinking - he was sure of that.


	5. Decisions

During the night, Maul was kept awake by dark dreams about the time he had to spend in those devastating conditions for about ten years and planned all the different forms of revenge he could come up with. He decided not to waste more time and got up to think and train.

After the training, he decided to meditate and let his mind connect with the dark side once more. A cruel plan slowly started to manifest in his mind - cruel but easy to execute and with a great end result. He stretched his limbs, it was time to take Kenobi's future into his hands.

"Savage, get up!" Maul said roughly when he entered the ship, successfully waking up his brother. Savage sat up and looked up to him. "Do you already have a plan, brother?"

"Yes, indeed I have one. And I am telling you, Kenobi won't resist that plan in any way - he claims himself way too pure to ignore the upcoming event. We will-" Maul walked over to the pilot's seat and grabbed its armrest "- slaughter a village on Raydonia - a planet of the galactic republic and will send a holo to the Jedi council. I will tell him to meet me there and we wait for him to arrive in the dark so he won't know you are with me. He has no chance against the two of us. The bloody council will forbid it but as far as I know Kenobi, he will come anyway. Kenobi is blinded and corrupted by the light side so much, he just cannot resist haha! And they say, the dark side is so much worse. It may be worse but it is way stronger."

Savage listened and nodded his approvement to the plan. He would have thought of a less cruel solution but he would not interfere with his brothers' plannings. Usually, Maul always got what he wanted anyway.

"Should we leave immediately, brother?" Savage asked him. "Yes - there is much work to do. I already can taste the sweet victory." The sith grinned and sat down in the pilot's seat.

Soon, the ship left the foggy planet with all its dark creatures behind to a new destination.

When they arrived, Maul landed the ship well hidden between trees with glowing fruits on them. The whole area was crowded with plants, glowing in all kinds of colours. The air felt wet and warmer than on Dathomir.

Savage grabbed his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt and opened the hatch. "Let's get this over with." He murmured and stepped outside.

Maul observed him and thought that his brother had a lot to learn still. Normally he would have scolded him and taught him a lesson but there was no time - Savage would have to wait, for now.

"Savage, tell me where the closest village is. Use the force."

"This way." The other nodded and marched towards the east. "About half a mile."

"Well then, let's go and do some work." Maul smiled and marched into the desired direction, already unclipping his beloved two-bladed sabre. He couldn't wait to use it again after such a long time. Maul felt like slitting some throats, just to be full of the dark side again - and his blade ached for it, too.

They stood in the dark, glinting eyes travelling over their prey, blades at the ready.

Children ran around the village - it was a humanoid species. The beings were quite tall with blue, shimmering skin and glowing hair. The village was mainly built out of cut down wood from the surrounding trees. After all, a rather tiny village with nothing special hiding in it. It was perfect for Maul's plan.

"Savage, record this until I am finished," Maul said and stepped out of the shadows.

The running children stopped before the tall figure, dressed in black, thick robes and looked up to the foreigner.

"Who are you?" One asked but Maul just smiled, showing his sharp teeth and swung his blade. It swooshed through the air, vibrating of power and the sith felt the presence of the dark side flooding into his mind and being.

Adults came running out of their huts, trying to attack him with sorrow and hate-filled screams but they had no chance against the sith and his lightsaber.

Once most of the villagers were dead, the zabrak grabbed one of the remaining women by her wrist. Maul turned his face to the cam.

"Kenobi, when you see this – remember my words. I am sure you still know who it was who killed your master. You may have defeated me in the past but know this - you put me through ten years of pain and anger. Which, by the way, I have to admit… made me even stronger in my hate for you! If you want the slaughtering to end you will do as I say. Come to Raydonia - alone and meet me in one on one combat. We will determine once and for all which of us is stronger in the force! Refuse and I will burn down every single village on this damn planet. You have 48 hours left to send your answer once this is sent to your beloved Jedi council haha! Has my info passed along? Better not give it away." Maul grinned and raised his lightsaber. He then proceeded to slit the throat of the woman he was holding, letting her dead body hit the ground before turning back to the village.

Savage finished the recording and pulled out his own lightsaber "Brother let's have some fun together before that bastard shows up" Maul nodded and the two Sith made their way through the village, lightsabers casting an eerie red light on the already bloody ground.

The Jedi council was in disarray. They had received the disturbing holo message and everyone was talking at the same time. Darth Maul - the sith that had been pronounced dead ten years prior after being struck down by Obi-Wan was threatening the lives of dozens now out of an act of pure revenge.

The council had been arguing for several hours now and agreed that it would be very unwise to risk the death of one of their best Jedi. No, they would not let Obi-Wan go, who was currently on his way back to Coruscant along Skywalker.

Yoda sat in his seat, well knowing what certain Jedi would have to say to that once he'd arrive. Obi-Wan was just too pure to let that happen and Yoda agreed to that on several levels. But there had to be an explanation for the reappearance of Darth Maul. Sith were very difficult to get rid off but Obi-Wan clearly had cut his body in half. He'd have to meditate about this - he felt a dark warning in the force, telling him to be attentive. The force gave nothing away than swirls of upcoming darkness which made him frown deeply.

"Master Yoda, what should we do now? Obi-Wan will arrive soon and once he steps out of his ship, he will hear what has happened. We cannot let him go! It is way too dangerous and vague!" Mace Windu said with his usual frown on his face.

"We will wait until Obi-Wan and young Skywalker arrive. Let Obi-Wan go, I will not. Let him arrive, settle down at first. Call him, we must. Tell him to stay for an important message after the report - alone." Yoda said and prepared himself to meditate about the warning the force had given him.

The moment Obi-Wan stepped out of his ship, he felt a lot of stress coming from most of the beings around him. He sensed it way before but once they were in the temple, it got way worse.

"This is strange. I feel a lot of fear, anger and worry in the force Obi-Wan." Anakin said with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Yes, I feel it, too. I don't have a good feeling about this… something has happened Anakin. I -..." Answered Obi-Wan but he was cut off by his comlink.

"Master Kenobi, Anakin" Windu said when Obi-Wan answered it and saw a holo of Windu standing before them with crossed arms. Obi-Wan read concern in Windu's face. "Master Windu." He greeted him.

"You both are supposed to give your report in as soon as possible and after that, there is some issue, the council has to discuss with you." Windu answered.

"Issues? What issues?" Anakin answered for his friend who gave him a look which Anakin ignored.

"This matter is to discuss with Obi-Wan only. Skywalker, this is not of your concern. Do not worry, first - we have to speak with Obi-Wan. Go and rest."

"But-!" Anakin said but his former master cut him off. "Of course master Windu, we'll come immediately once we are presentable."

Windu nodded and eyed Anakin with his usual annoyed look, Anakin returned with a scowl before he disappeared. This behaviour usually gave Obi-Wan headaches, because it reminded him of the tantrums Anakin threw when he was angry in the past. Windu and he would never get along after his padawan played several tricks on him or interrupted his teaching.

"Anakin. How often have I told you to-"

"Yes, yes master. 'Be patient and don't speak without thinking' - I know. But I feel it in the force that something is wrong and Windu behaved strangely in my eyes. Why does it only concern you? There is something going on here." Anakin said, annoyance in his voice.

Obi-Wan patted his shoulder. "Anakin, I am sure this will be all solved once we talk to them. You know I don't keep secrets from you. Windu is always stressed… especially with you -you have to give him that. You know his character. Now, let's get cleaned up and report."

"Alright." Anakin muttered and walked with him to their quarters. While this new setting already annoyed him, he was happy to finally get the chance to shower and slip into new robes.

When they had met before the council's room, Anakin gave Obi-Wan a worried look which he accepted with an "I know, Anakin".

They reported about their latest mission, the fails and successes during their stay and got several comments for it - especially from Windu, who talked about more safety and thinking which made Obi-Wan hope that Anakin would not bite back or roll his eyes about. In the end, the result was not bad.

"Leave you may, Skywalker." Yoda said.

"Master Yoda, is something wrong? I feel a great disturbance… stress and fear. Has this something to do with Obi-Wan?"

"Skywalker. No need to worry there is for now. Important matters I have need to be discussed with your former master. Go and rest." Yoda said and eyed Anakin.

"Thank you, master Yoda." Anakin said with a bow and left, giving Obi-Wan a worried look who tried to calm him with a smile.

"Obi-Wan, there is something you need to watch before anyone can say a word - not even you." Windu said and Obi-Wan nodded.

"Good. This holo-message has reached us this morning and we have proof it is real."

Obi-Wan just nodded, feeling a bit tense at what might await him in that video.

He saw the flash of a double-bladed red lightsaber which was slicing its way through flesh, swung by a tall figure in a cloak. At the sight, Obi-Wan felt uneasy and when the figure turned around and spoke his name, it put him back to that awful day when he had lost his master. Sorrow and rage-filled Obi-Wan's mind but he quickly recovered and forced the memories away by concentrating on the things he had been seeing moments before. Maul clearly wanted his revenge on him but with such poor methods? Sith really were cruel and Maul's doing disgusted him when he thought of all the poor, innocent souls and the sorrow.

"Darth Maul is alive." He muttered and silence filled the room for several seconds in which everyone was reminded of the loss Maul had caused them - especially Obi-Wan.

"Sadly, since his corpse was never found, we cannot say that he died so it is very much possible it is him. I am sorry Obi-Wan… I am also sorry for the poor village." Windu said.

"What do you mean by that? Masters, I will leave as soon as possible."

"No, you will not." Windu interfered. "Can't you see the danger in this? I am pretty sure you do and as far as sad as this is Obi-Wan, we cannot let one of our best jedi and generals die on such a mission. There has to be another way! We can send clones."

"What? You want this to continue? I don't have to remind you that he is a Sith and he won't ever stop until I, myself face him. I HAVE to leave!" He bit out, not believing what the other master had said out loud.

"I have to agree to that… really dangerous and risky this is. But wait you must - one day to think you will give us, Obi-Wan?"

"Alright...Master Yoda. I am sure that you will find a solution soon." Obi-Wan said and bowed to leave with something else on his mind.

"Thank you Master Kenobi and… be careful." Yoda said and eyed him.

When he had left, Windu turned to Yoda. "I hope he waits. I really do. From somewhere, Anakin must have learned the love for risky missions. I don't like this at all."

"Agree I must… Obi-Wan will do what he will do."

Once, Obi-Wan had left the council room, he had to take several deep breaths to recover from the shock seeing the Zabrak after so many years. It was sheer luck he had been able to defeat Darth Maul at his youth. He had faced a lot of fights and opponents after that but seeing that man in front of him again was nothing he had wished for. Darth Maul… never had he thought he had survived in any way after being cut in half? But the dark side was never to underestimate. He was sure there was something dark going on, he even felt it in the force. Now, he was in the middle of something he did not know was coming to him and it wasn't a positive thing at all. He HAD to leave, there was no other way. It was his duty to protect the innocent and this was something personal. He was well aware of the fact that he should not go after personal issues but this was something he would not ignore. Maul was a great danger in general. And then there was Anakin. He'd bomb him with questions and Obi-Wan was in no condition to explain himself right now. Anakin saw Maul in the Desert back on Tatooine when he was a little child and later, Obi-Wan told him about Maul but Anakin never had reason to dig into that topic much, especially, because he knew it was a delicate topic for his master. Anakin would not be happy about what was going to come but Anakin was often not happy with things not going his way - no one knew better than Obi-Wan.

Anakin had waited outside for him and marched towards him with a grim expression on his face. Obi-Wan sighed.

"Anakin-"

"What is it this time, the council wants me not to know? I can't believe it is something 'light', because they looked very serious - especially Windu with his stick up in the-"

"Anakin!"

"Yes, sorry…" He said with a frown and Obi-Wan felt Anakin's anger not well hidden in the force.

"Look. It was a very long trip… They talked to me about certain plannings that have to be arranged."

"And this is top secret, because...?" Anakin eyed him.

"It is just not that important that they'd need the two of us, besides, I need to go after something personal. Anakin I will tell you once I feel right about it, okay? Don't be angry. What about Ahsoka? Don't you want to meet her? I feel her presence coming nearer. Go, spar with her - she is your padawan after all."

"Alright, master… but I do not like this at all, okay?"

"I know Anakin, I know."

"Master! Obi-Wan!" Ahsoka called suddenly and Obi-Wan smiled at the young girl.

"Ahsoka. How have you been?"

"Great, Master Obi-Wan! How was your mission?"

"Oh, it was quite a success….I am sure Anakin can tell you a lot of his doing in it. Our hero without fear handled it very well. I have to leave and rest my dear - enjoy your time." Obi-Wan said and turned to leave.

"Obi-Wan! I know this is some cheap trick to get away! You are still very bad at lying!" Anakin shouted and Obi-Wan smiled at that, waving his arm.

"Master, is something wrong?" Ahsoka asked, sensing the worry coming from her master.

"No, it is nothing Ahsoka. Obi-Wan is hiding something. He said it is personal but I don't believe he told me everything about it. Our force bond feels weird, he has his shields up. Normally, when we are here in the temple he opens them. I mean I always feel a lot more than any other person but I am feeling a strange tug. Something bothers him deeply. Obi-Wan is always so calm and reserved about personal issues… you know what, I have to meditate about this later. Let's go spar Ahsoka - we haven't sparred since I was gone. I have to take care of my padawan." Anakin joked but Ahsoka felt their bond filled with worry. Her master and Obi-Wan were always so close and as far as she knew, her master never liked it to be kept in the dark.

"Sure master. I would love to! I have studied more about my technique in books I have found in the archives. And do not worry too much about master Obi-Wan - he always sets things right, doesn't he?"

"Yes, well… he does love reckless missions where he gets caught and I have to save him though." He said and followed Ahsoka who was walking in the direction of the training halls.

'Obi-Wan, what are you up to. I will find this out.' Anakin thought with a grim expression.

Back in his quarters, Obi-Wan sat down on his bed, deep in thoughts. The force was warning him, telling him that there was something else. But he could not let this happen. He knew Maul and the things he was capable of. Definitely, Maul would do what he had promised in that video Obi-Wan just saw. Several hours must have passed already between the recording and the time when he was informed about the video. A lot of things could have happened in the meantime to the village and its people. He just had to do something about it.

He trusted the force with his life and usually, he listened to it but this time he just could not rely on it. He had escaped many risky situations before - and not every risky mission was saved by Anankin. Obi-Wan was a grown man with his own will. He always listened to the council and master Yoda. Sometimes he had even agreed to Anakin's bickering about the council's strict views. Some decisions really were not to his liking but in the end, he trusted the decisions the council made. The main goal was peace for the republic so that single persons and their well being were not as much important. For Obi-Wan, such things indeed were a matter to deal with as a Jedi, because the people made the republic, not politicians and troopers.

He felt Anakin's distress and annoyance flooding into the bond and tugging at his shields but he could not tell him. He would stop Obi-Wan and his plan - Obi-Wan wasn't even sure if Anakin would go as far as to tell master Yoda. He trusted Anakin with his life but this was just way too risky. To protect Obi-Wan, Anakin would do everything.

He sighed, unable to focus properly on all the things troubling his mind. Obi-Wan needed a plan - a proper one. He stroked his beard, deep in thoughts. During the night was the best option he had - suppressing his force signature was a skill he was very good in. And then there was Anakin. The only way to sneak away from him was putting up his shields so strong that Anakin wouldn't even feel his emotions which were highly difficult - even impossible. Obi-Wan considered that fact for a while but decided to just to put up his shields as far as possible - plus the fact that Anakin would be asleep anyway. The trip had been long, after all. He would take R4 with him but he was not sure about his ship. Taking his ship would be a bad idea - it simply way, too obvious. The thought of leaving the temple so soon made him cringe. It was war and he wouldn't resist and follow his duty but it was exhausting. There were some unregistered starfighters he could use in the airfield area not assigned to a Jedi yet.

The coordinates he already had but what was frightening was, that it would be Maul who would wait for him on a planet he did not know of. The outer rim was quite far and it would take a long time to go there. He had to answer Maul as soon as possible. The Jedi got up and took his holopad and typed in the numbers Maul had given to him. Obi-Wan felt adrenaline rush through him while he waited. He tried to collect himself by breathing and releasing his strain into the force.

"Ah, Kenobi. Took you long enough. Tell me - how have you been in my ten-year absence hm? Missed me?" Answered the blue-ish holo of Maul's upper body. The Zabrak looked older, pained and even more angry as Obi-Wan remembered him.

"Maul. Not really, I thought you would be dead but here you are. What do you want with me?"

"What do I want with you? Hahaha, Kenobi. You cannot be that dense. You put me through pain and madness for ten standard years by slicing me apart! The only thing I could want with you is your death. A nice and slow one I have to add. Jedi scum like you are would only come to protect some weaklings. See? Here you are, answering me." Maul laughed.

Obi-Wan frowned. "This night I will depart. You better not hurt anyone until I arrive."

"Haha do that, Kenobi, do that. We will see about the other matter. This talk bores me - we talk once you arrive. See you soon my beloved Jedi." Maul sneered and the connection was cut off.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. This morning, he was almost happy to return home and now he was about to go facing a Sith alone on some planet far away from everything and no one could know. This truly was insane and he was well aware of it. His life for many others was worth the price. Maul had to be taken down or otherwise, the aftermaths would be terrible.

He decided to get some rest until he had to leave.


End file.
